This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Somali pirates get help from expats in Canada

A dramatic spike in piracy in African waters this year is backed by an international network of mostly Somali expatriates stretching as far as Canada, say law enforcement officials, researchers and the pirates themselves.

Thu., Dec. 11, 2008

MOGADISHU–A dramatic spike in piracy in African waters this year is backed by an international network of mostly Somali expatriates stretching as far as Canada, say law enforcement officials, researchers and the pirates themselves.

The expatriates, including reputedly some among the 200,000 Somalis living in Canada, offer funds, equipment and information in exchange for a cut of the ransoms, according to those familiar with the phenomenon.

With help from the network, Somali pirates have brought in at least $30 million (U.S.) in ransom so far this year, they say.

"We have negotiators, translators and agents in many areas ... let me say across the world," said Ahmed Dahir Suleyman, a pirate in the harbour town of Eyl, where scores of hijacked ships are docked.

"These people help us during exchanges of ransom and finding out the exact person to negotiate with."

Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Centre, an organization based in St. Paul, Minn., with ties to Toronto, says the network is "an open secret within the (Somali) community."

"We know the money flows through the east coast of the Gulf of Aden to Mogadishu, and eventually ends up in North America through money-wiring services," he told the Star's Nick Aveling.

The RCMP was unavailable for comment when contacted last night.

The deals with "investors" appear to be fairly informal, with family or clan networks stretching overseas.

The lack of a proper banking system in Somalia, which has not had an effective government in almost 20 years, makes it difficult to trace how much funding the pirates get from overseas or how it is channelled.

Somalia is a failed state with no banks, only a cash-based, informal transfer network called "hawala."

A hawala operator takes in money on one end, then instructs a relative, friend or another agent in another country to hand a like amount to someone else.

The pirates have attacked more than 90 vessels this year and successfully seized more than 36.

Associated Press

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com